“It’s in vain that Zubkov disowns Rodchenkov.” A complaint has been filed against the president of the Russian Bobsleigh Federation to the prosecutor's office. Biography Bobsledder in a carriage with Zubkov

ZUBKOV ALEXANDER YURIEVICH

10.08.1974

Honorary citizen of the city of Bratsk (2006). Russian luger and bobsledder. Honored Master of Sports of Russia (2003). Twice master of sports of international class: in luge (1994) and bobsleigh (2000). Twice Olympic champion of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in two-man and four-man bobsleigh. Silver medalist at the Olympic Games in Turin (2006) in four-man bobsleigh. Bronze medalist at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver (2010) in double bobsleigh. President of the Russian Bobsleigh Federation (2018). Minister of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of the Irkutsk Region (2010). Best athlete of the year in the Irkutsk region (2005). Awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland (2010, 2014).

From the age of 1 I attended kindergarten No. 103.

From grades 1 to 3 he studied at school No. 16, and from grades 4 to 11 at school No. 14.

In 1984, at the age of 10, he began to engage in luge sports. For 18 years he was a student at the Bratsk Sports School for Youth and Sports School (currently the Sports School for Youth and Sports School "Olympus"). Elena Karabanova became Zubkov’s first coach as a luger. The classes quickly brought results: Alexander became the champion and winner of the USSR, CIS and Russian Cup in luge in different age categories.

In 1991, after finishing school, he entered the Bratsk Pulp and Paper College. He completed his studies in 1994 as a construction technician.

After completing his military service in the army (from 1992 to 1994), he remained to work under a contract at CSKA.

In 1994, after winning the 1994 World Youth Championship in Igls, he was awarded the title of Master of Sports of International Class in Luge.

He played for the sports society "Dynamo" (MVD) and served in the ranks of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the city of Bratsk.

After the 1998 Olympics in Nagano (Japan), where he took 20th place, he decided to switch to bobsled.

In 2000, he was awarded the title of international master of sports in bobsleigh. since this year he has been a constant winner of domestic bobsleigh competitions.

In October 2002, he transferred to the School of Higher Sports Excellence (SHVSM) in Irkutsk.

In 2003, he was awarded the title “Honored Master of Sports of Russia” (for his first international success - 3rd place at the World Championships).

On February 27, 2005 in Calgary (Canada) at the World Championships, the crew became second. This is the highest achievement of Russian bobsledders at the world championships.

In 2005 he was recognized as the best athlete of the year in the Irkutsk region.

In 2006, at the Olympic Games in Turin (Italy), he became a silver medalist in the foursome in bobsleigh.

In August 2006, by decision of the Duma of the city of Bratsk, he was awarded the title “Honorary Citizen of the City of Bratsk.”

On February 22, 2007, he was awarded the Order of Friendship (for his great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high sporting achievements).

In 2010, at the Olympic Games in Vancouver (Canada), he became a bronze medalist in double bobsleigh.

On March 5, 2010, he was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree (for his great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high sporting achievements at the Games of the XXI Olympiad 2010 in Vancouver).

On August 11, 2010, by decree of the Governor of the Irkutsk Region, Mezentsev was appointed Minister of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of the Irkutsk Region.

On October 18, 2010, by decree of the Governor of the Irkutsk Region, Mezentsev was relieved of the post of Minister of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of the Irkutsk Region in connection with the return of A. Zubkov to the Russian national bobsleigh team.

At the 2011 World Championships (the 60th Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships were held from February 14 to 27, 2011 in the German city of Königssee), for the first time in the history of Russian bobsleigh, he won a gold medal in doubles.

In August 2013 he signed a contract with Mordovia. He subsequently represented this republic at the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014.

On February 5, 2014, at a meeting of the Olympic headquarters of the Russian delegation, he was chosen as the standard bearer of the Russian team at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sochi.

On February 17, 2014, the bobsled crew consisting of Alexander Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda won gold at the Olympic Games in Sochi. Based on the results of four races, the total time of the Russian crew was 3 minutes 45.39 seconds.

On February 23, 2014, the bobsleigh crew of Alexander Zubkov (Alexey Voevoda, Alexey Negodaylo, Dmitry Trunenkov) won gold at the Olympic Games in Sochi. Based on the results of four races, the total time of the crew was 3 minutes 40.60 seconds.

On February 24, 2014, he was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (for his great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high sporting achievements at the XXII Olympic Winter Games 2014 in Sochi).

In October 2014, he announced his retirement from his sports career and his intention to become a coach.

In 2014, he was awarded the medal of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation “For Military Valor”, II degree (for his great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, high sporting achievements at the XXII Olympic Winter Games in 2014).

In 2014 he was awarded the Order of Glory, III degree (state award of the Republic of Mordovia).

In 2014 he became a laureate of the Silver Doe award from the Federation of Sports Journalists of Russia.

On April 28, 2016, the Olympic Reserve School “Olympus” (Bratsk) was named after two-time Olympic bobsled champion Alexander Zubkov. This event was timed to coincide with the 93rd anniversary of the founding of CSKA. The ceremonial presentation of the nameplate took place on April 28 at the Bratsk Drama Theater.

On November 24, 2017, by decision of the International Olympic Committee, for violating anti-doping rules, he was stripped of two gold medals at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi and banned from participating in the Olympic Games for life.

On February 1, 2018, the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the life ban and replaced it with a ban for one Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang (2018).

Over the past 20 years, he has been a member of the Russian national teams in luge (1990-1999) and bobsleigh (1999 - present).

4-time winner of the 2003, 2005 and 2008 World Championships, vice-champion of the 2006 Olympics in Turin in four-man crews, multiple European champion.

4-time bobsleigh World Cup winner: in four-man crews (2004/05, 2005/06 and 2008/09), in the combined two- and four-man competition (2008/09).

Before taking up bobsleigh, Zubkov was a luger, became a world champion among juniors and participated in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, where he took 20th place in a single-sleigh. Alexander was involved in luge sports from 1984 to 1999. Best results in luge: 1990 - USSR Championship - 1 m. (1st place), 1991 - USSR Cup - 1 m. (2 place), 1992 - CIS Cup - 1 m. (2 place) , 2 m. (1-place), 1995 - Russian Cup - 1 m. (2-place), In 1994, 1997, 1999 becomes Russian champion in single-seater sleigh. In 1994, in a two-seater crew with Danila Chaban, he became the World Youth Luge Champion in Austria (Igls).

Family: wife Tatyana - worked as his coach. Daughter Elizaveta takes part in junior skeleton competitions at the national level.

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ADDITIONAL MATERIALS ABOUT A.YU.ZUBKOV:

Best results in this sport:

2000 - World Bob Start Championship – 3 m. (4 places), Russian Championship – 2 m. (2 places), 1 m. (4 places),

2001 - World Bob Start Championship - 3m, Russian Championship - 1m. (2-person), 2m. (4-seater),

2002 - XIX Winter Olympic Games, Salt Lake City (USA) – 16 (4 places), 18 (2 places),

2003 - World Championship, Lake Placid (USA) – 3rd place.

2005 — a four-piece crew consisting of Alexander Zubkov (pilot), Sergei Golubev, Alexey Seliverstov and Dmitry Stepushkin (accelerators) becomes the winner of the World Cup (7 stages); in the double bob, Zubkov and Stepushkin take third place.

2005 (February 27)— in Calgary (Canada) at the World Championships the crew becomes second. This is the highest achievement of Russian bobsledders at the world championships.

2005 (December 10-11)— in Igls (Austria) at the 3rd stage of the World Cup, he became the winner in a two-seater crew and the silver medalist in a four-seater crew.

2006 (January 28-29)— Alexander Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda won the final stage of the Bobsleigh World Cup, setting a new track record in Altenberg, Germany. In the final classification of the World Cup, Alexander became a silver medalist. In a four-seater crew, Alexander became the winner in the overall standings of the Bobsleigh World Cup.

2006 - At the Olympic Games in Turin, he became a silver medalist in the four-man bobsleigh.

2006 — at the last stage of the World Cup in Park City (USA), Alexander Zubkov’s team took third place among four-seater crews. This result was enough for the Irkutsk resident to win the overall World Cup among four-man pilots. For the first time in the history of domestic bobsleigh, Alexander won the World Cup in combination (twos + fours).

2014 (February 17)— at the Olympic Games in Sochi, Alexander Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda won gold in bobsleigh (twos).

Awards:

— Olympic Games 2014 (Sochi) — bobsleigh (men, fours) — gold;
— Olympic Games 2014 (Sochi) — bobsleigh (men, doubles) — gold;
- Olympic Games 2006 (Turin) - Bobsleigh (men, fours) - silver;
— Olympic Games 2010 (Vancouver) — bobsleigh (men, doubles) — bronze;

— Bobsled World Championship: Königssee (2011) — gold;
— Bobsleigh World Championships: Calgary (2005) — silver;
– Bobsled World Championships: Lake Placid (2003) – bronze.

Publications

1. Zubkov, A. Pilot of the “silver” crew / conversation led by K. Leonov // Vost.-Sib. Truth. ‒ 2006. ‒ February 28. - P. 1;
2. Zubkov, A. Pilot of the “silver” crew / conversation led by K. Leonov // Vost.-Sib. Truth. ‒ 2006. ‒ February 28. - P. 1;
3. Alexander Zubkov became an honorary citizen of Bratsk // Brother. forest chemist. ‒ 2006. ‒ September 1 - P. 1;
4. Alexander Zubkov, the most titled bobsledder in Russia // Irkutsk region. Book of records. - Irkutsk, 2007. - P. 99;
5. Bratsk. Business card: [issue. 1]: photo album. – Tomsk, 2008. – P. 10;
6. Larin, E. Brilliant performance of fraternal bobsleigh // Our Siberia. character. - 2012. - No. 3. - P. 2;
7. Mamontov, I. Alexander Zubkov - bobsledder, causing opponents to panic // Regional. ‒ 2012. ‒ December 7 - P. 7;
8. Miroshina, S. Golden champion from Bratsk // Our Siberia. character. - 2014. - No. 4. - P. 5;
9. “Own track” by Alexander Zubkov // Brother. forest chemist. ‒ 2015. ‒ January 23 ‒ P. 1).

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Famous Russian bobsledder Alexander Zubkov born in the city of Bratsk, which is located in the Irkutsk region of Russia. The date of birth of Alexander Zubkov is the tenth of August 1974. Alexander Zubkov became the European bobsleigh champion four times, and he is the world bobsleigh champion. At the 2006 Turin Olympics, Alexander Zubkov took second place in bobsleigh, and third at the Vancouver Olympics. Alexander Zubkov has the title of Honored Master of Sports of Russia.
Alexander Zubkov became interested in luge sports from the age of ten. His first coach in luge was Elena Karabanova, then Lyudmila Antonenko, and subsequently Pavel Koloedov, who coached Alexander Zubkov not only in sleigh, but also in bobsleigh. Alexander Zubkov is an international master of sports in bobsleigh and sleigh. Alexander Zubkov is a member of the Russian national bobsleigh and luge teams. He won medals at the Bobsleigh World Championships four times - in 2003, 2005 and 2008. Alexander Zubkov won the world bobsleigh cup five times - in fours (2005, 2006 and 2009), in twos and fours (2009), in twos (2011).
In 1998, at the Winter Olympics in the Japanese city of Nagano Alexander Zubkov He took twentieth place in the single-seat sled race, and also became the world champion among juniors. He was engaged in sleighing for fifteen years - from 1984 to 1999. In 1990, he took first place at the USSR Championship in this sport, the following year he won 1st place in the national cup, and a year later - 1st place in the Commonwealth of Independent States Cup. In the 1995 Russian Cup, Alexander Zubkov won first place in luge. Alexander Zubkov became the Russian champion in luge in 1994, 1997 and 1999. In 1994, in the Austrian city of Igls, Alexander Zubkov became the world champion in luge among youth.
Since 1999 Alexander Zubkov switched to bobsled. In 2000, he took third place at the World Bob-Start Championship, and first and second place in the Russian championship. In 2001, Alexander Zubkov repeated the result of the previous year. At the 2003 World Bobsleigh Championships, which took place in the American city of Lake Placid, Alexander Zubkov won a bronze medal.
In 2005, Alexander Zubkov, as part of a four-man team, won the Bobsleigh World Cup, and as a member of a two-man team, received a bronze medal.
In the Canadian city of Calgary in 2005, at the Bobsleigh World Championships, Alexander Zubkov took second place. This is the best Russian achievement at world championships.
In December 2005 in the Austrian city of Igls at the Bobsleigh World Cup stage Alexander Zubkov won in a two-seater crew and took second place in a four-seater. In the same year, Alexander Zubkov was recognized as the best athlete in the Irkutsk region of Russia.

Childhood of Alexander Zubkov

Luge appeared in Alexander's life when the boy was ten years old. The country learned about bobsleigh as a sport only in 1984 after the Olympics. Then many boys became interested in bobsleigh and wanted to know what it was. Just in the year of the Olympics, Sasha, who had already been skiing for some time, came to luge. Naturally, he didn’t even think about bobsleigh at that time.

The first coach of the young luger at the Olympic reserve school was Elena Karabanova. Zubkov moved to Irkutsk and began training with Lyudmila Antonenko. The young athlete was distinguished by his determination and perseverance, which his mentors saw. These are precisely the qualities without which it is impossible to achieve victories in professional sports. Soon the first results appeared. Alexander managed to win many awards in luge in different age categories.

The beginning of the sports career of Alexander Zubkov

Zubkov achieved his best results as a luger in the nineties. During these ten years, he became the champion of Russia three times in a single-seat sleigh. Having gone to the youth luge championship in 1994, he became the champion in a two-seater crew. His date was Daniil Chaban.

1998 was the year of the first Winter Olympics in his career. It cannot be said that he achieved success there, since he only managed to take twentieth place.

Valery Leichenko suggested that Sasha, who at that time was already an international master of sports, try himself in bobsleigh, which is related to luge. Zubkov had to make a difficult choice. It was the results of the Olympics that helped him make up his mind. He began to engage in bobsleigh, this technically difficult sport.

The moment of transition to bobsleigh can be considered the beginning of a new sports life for an athlete. Possessing a truly champion's character, Zubkov the luger was able to prove himself in bobsleigh. Already in 2000, he began to win victory after victory at domestic competitions.

Unfortunately, in Salt Lake City he became only the sixteenth. Nevertheless, it became clear that success at the Olympics was just a matter of time. The rating of the Russian crew at international competitions grew from victory to victory.

Alexander Zubkov: Abramovich needs to be kicked out of the national team

The Olympics in Turin confirmed the forecasts of experts. Zubkov and the accelerators - Golubev, Stepushkin, Seliverstov, took second place, losing to the crew of the German Andre Lange.

Injuries are a common occurrence in elite sports. Alexander seriously injured his Achilles tendon right before the start of the Olympics, but, not wanting to give up his dream of winning, years of training, and the hopes of fans and coaches, he took part in it and showed brilliant results.

But the injury still needed to be treated, and Alexander decided to skip the next season to undergo a rehabilitation course in Germany. The operation was successful, the athlete returned to form, and the 2008\2009 season confirmed this. Sasha and his comrades won the World Cup, performing in both fours and twos.

Alexander Zubkov again won gold at the World Cup

Preparing for new starts became more and more difficult, as aces from Switzerland, Germany and the USA began to take them seriously as worthy competitors. This was the reason that they were given training tracks in Europe with reluctance, not wanting their opponents to get in good shape. Unfortunately, there was not a single track in Russia that met international standards. And this despite the fact that the bobsledders showed brilliant results. Because of these difficulties, the guys most often had to train in Sigulda (Latvia), where Soviet and Russian masters of sports also trained.

In 2010, Alexander decided to leave sports, accepting the offer to become the Minister of Sports of the Irkutsk Region. However, he refused this position and continued to achieve success in professional bobsleigh. Already in 2011, he won the first gold in Russian bobsleigh in doubles.

Alexander Zubkov now

Zubkov was elected ambassador to the Sochi Olympics. Having performed well, he will be able to prove that Russia is a great sports country. Zubkov liked the track in Sochi, he called it a track built at the highest level.

Personal life of Alexander Zubkov

The famous bobsledder devotes all his energy to sports, but also tries to devote time to his family. They all love to relax together on the beaches of Spain and Turkey. Alexander has three children. The youngest is now two years old. The older girls go in for sports: the eldest is in skeleton, and the youngest is in curling.

Throughout his career, the family has always supported the athlete. Family for Alexander, according to him, is the most important thing. He can always consult and find understanding. The main goal in his life is to work, endure and set goals.

When asked if he ever wanted to quit sports, Alexander said that there was such a moment in his life in 1999. At that time, he was already among the top ten best lugers in the world and on the national team, but there was only enough money for the simplest food and a stroller for the child. To feed his family, he wanted to leave sports and get a regular job. During these years, Alexander had to work as a taxi driver, otherwise there would simply not be enough money to live on.

The situation in our bobsleigh continues to be extremely tense.

While Alexander Zubkov is running for re-election as head of the Russian Bobsleigh Federation (FBI), a statement of violation of anti-doping rules has been filed against him in the prosecutor's offices of the Krasnodar Territory and the Basmanny District of Moscow. We contacted Alexey Golovin, the author of this statement, and learned that he was not satisfied with the activities of the President of the FBI.

– So that readers don’t get the feeling that some provincial coach is throwing a barrel at a big athlete, tell us who you are in bobsleigh.

– I am an international-class master of sports of the USSR in bobsleigh, champion of the USSR, bronze medalist of the 1988 European Championship in doubles (together with Vyacheslav Shchavlev), participant in the 1992 Olympics in Albertville.

Alexey Golovin and Alexander Zubkov / Photo: © personal archive of Alexey Golovin

– What is the essence of your complaints against Zubkov?

- It's a long story. In short, I believe that Zubkov took doping and McLaren’s arguments in his part are true. Plus, he disgustingly organizes work in the federation, proof of which is the terrible performance of our bobsledders at the Olympics in Korea.

– Where do you get such confidence about doping?

– Firstly, bobsled is a pragmatic sport. We don't have sensations at all. And according to all scenarios, Zubkov should have been in 4th-5th place in Sochi. And he won. There are certain laws of physiology that clearly say that sprinting speed and strength qualities disappear with age. A person becomes less and less competitive. Immediately something unnatural happened - he added, but this cannot happen, it is against nature. Despite the fact that Zubkov is not essentially a sprinter!

Well, and secondly, we must not forget how closely Grigory Rodchenkov communicated with bobsleigh. At one time, I was on the USSR national team with one accelerator, who later married Rodchenkov’s sister, Marina. They have a child. Now this man is an honored coach of Russia, a well-known specialist. That is, everything is very close here, and Rodchenkov’s technologies were well known in bobsleigh. No one talked much about them, what exactly these technologies were, keeping it a secret. So it’s in vain that Zubkov is kicking away from Rodchenkov, it’s funny, too many people in bobsleigh knew this name in previous years.

– What is your opinion about Rodchenkov?

“He is a very high-class specialist, but the problem is that they are trying to pin all the blame on him, but, in my opinion, he did exactly what he was told. I believe that if he had not gone abroad, the fate of Nikita Kamaev and Vyacheslav Sinev would have awaited him. Everything there was very similar - healthy, strong men passed away. We communicated closely with Kamaev, I went to see him in RUSADA and resolved some issues. Rodchenkov was in such a situation that he was forced to flee.

– Let’s return to Zubkov, how long have you known him?

– Since 2000, when he left luge for bobsleigh. And just in 1999, at my own expense, I organized the bobsleigh federation of the Oryol region. I recruited a team, and two luge guys came to me who had problems in their team - Alexander Zubkov and Albert Demchenko. The first one wanted to stay in Orel, and I tried to accommodate him. But the management said that there are more talented guys who are already on the national team, and here is a former luger, from whom it is not clear what will happen. By the way, Demchenko just didn’t succeed in bobsleigh, and he returned to luge. So I watched Zubkov’s career from his first days in bobsled, and my former athlete Philip Egorov, as part of his four, took silver in Turin. So, it pains me to watch how this man organizes work in the federation.

– What’s wrong with the federation?

- All wrong. The basic principle is “for friends to be friends.” Zubkov attracts good friends to work, regardless of the professionalism of these people.

When our athletes at the Olympics in Korea show acceleration in the third ten, it is a shame and disgrace! How do the trainers who worked with them even look people in the eyes after this? They arrived at the main start, had all the conditions, excellent beans, skates, everything was organized and created for them. And the athletes they led have the 29th acceleration out of 30! Yes, after this, the coach should resign without any discussion, if everything is in order with his conscience.

But since the principle is “for friends to be friends,” and even at public expense, the result becomes secondary. They go to competitions - and in bobsleigh, international competitions take place at elite ski resorts in North America and Western Europe - and live there in expensive hotels. Of course, Zubkov and his friends are extremely interested in preserving the presidency. For this reason, pressure is put on the athletes, they are forced to name Zubkov as a coach, although he does not work with them. The staffing of the team follows the same principle - proximity to the person of the president.

We should not forget the story of weightlifter Ilya Atnabaev. In 2014, he won the European Youth Championship, and the next year he was caught doping as a result of the Youth World Cup and was disqualified until 2019. And suddenly this athlete comes to bobsleigh, competes at the Russian Championship and at the Spartakiad in the 2016/17 season. After this, by decision of the coaching council (!), he gets on the list of the Russian national team, goes to all training camps, receives funding, and competes. But by allowing this, Zubkov involved a large circle of people in violating anti-doping legislation. Look who signed the national team lists. These are Deputy Minister of Sports Sergei Kosilov, Director of the Department of High Achievements Sports of the Ministry of Sports Alexey Morozov, Director of the Center for Specialists of the Ministry of Sports Alexander Kravtsov. And Zubkov himself, who, in fact, submitted the list with Atnabaev to all of them for signature. In the midst of a hellish scandal with the Olympics in Sochi, Russia is fighting off accusations, and Zubkov, himself under sanctions, submits a disqualified athlete for approval to the national team list, and this is signed by all the heads of the Ministry of Sports, except perhaps the minister himself. Yes, he set them all up!

Match TV note: Ilya Atnabaev is indeed listed on the list of the Russian national bobsleigh team for the 2017/18 season, which is proven by the version of this document on the FBI website (1). The version of the same document on the Ministry of Sports website (2) has already been corrected and does not contain any mention of the athlete.

In addition, the FBI website still lists Maxim Belugin, who was caught using all three components of what McLaren’s report described as the “Rodchenkov cocktail”: trenbolone, methenolone and oxandrolone. Belugin was disqualified for life by the IOC, but, unlike Zubkov and Voevoda, Belugin did not file a claim with CAS or protest this decision.

Maxim Belugin on the website of the Russian Bobsleigh Federation

– Why, if all this is true, has Zubkov still not been relieved of his post?

– It’s a mystery to me. Perhaps somewhere a decision was made very highly that he should be left at the helm of the federation, so open letters from coaches, harsh interviews, and, in the end, his status after the CAS decision do not affect the situation in any way. But this is wrong, the person is disqualified, his guilt is recognized by CAS, and he cannot lead the All-Russian Federation, he simply cannot. It must go away on its own or it must be removed. That is why I am now translating all this into legal channels - there are no other options.

P.S: Back in April, after publishing with Evgeny Pechenkin, we asked the press service of the Russian Bobsleigh Federation to organize a conversation with Zubkov so that he could express his point of view. The request remained unanswered. Before publishing this conversation, we also tried to contact Zubkov for several days. At first he rescheduled the call, then said that he had several business trips ahead and would not be able to talk before July.

– We have some information, we would like to give you the opportunity to speak out.

– You are absolutely correct in noticing that we need to give people the opportunity to speak out. But why didn't you do this earlier?

- Ready to come right now.

“Everyone says so, but you should have thought before throwing mud.” And now I have to make excuses, but I don’t think it’s necessary to do this. Besides, I don’t want to shed dirt on people who themselves are not clean. Now I have a lot to do, I work closely with the regions, let me sort out these tasks, and I will fully answer all questions.

– Answer at least one now. Don't you think that your current status, when you are disqualified by the IOC for Sochi, puts the Russian Bobsleigh Federation, which you head, at risk?

- No, I don’t think so. More precisely, I am sure that it does not.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Sergey Kivrin, RIA Novosti/Pavel Lisitsyn

A silver medal at the Turin Olympics, bronze four years later in Canada and, finally, two medals with a golden sheen in Sochi - all these are the achievements of representatives of Russian bobsleigh or, as some fans also call it, “winter formula” at the Olympic Games during the Russian period. And a modest but courageous athlete, a great pilot, Alexander Zubkov, is responsible for all these medals.

In addition to achievements on the Olympic circuit, Alexander Zubkov is a seven-time world cup winner. We won’t describe which medals Zubkov won in doubles and which in quadruples, the list will still be impressive. Alexander Zubkov was a victor at the 2011 World Championships; he was a silver medalist at the world championships three times, and a bronze medalist twice. Alexander is also a four-time European champion; in addition to these victories, there are two more silvers and one European bronze.

Sleighman

Zubkov began his career with luge. As befits all great athletes, the biography of bobsledder Alexander begins in early childhood - at the age of ten. Back in 1984, the future champion, and at that moment just a boy Sasha, appeared on the threshold of a specialized children's and youth sports school of the Olympic reserve in the city of Bratsk, where he trained for the next eighteen years.

Over the course of a decade (since 1990), luger Zubkov was regularly called up to the national team, and in 1994 he was awarded the title of international master of sports. Alexander Zubkov performed successfully in the sleigh, but all his successes were at the level of youth competitions. The athlete repeatedly won domestic championships and cups, and at the 1994 World Youth Championships, paired with Daniil Chaban, he showed the first result. The first Olympics that Alexander Zubkov went to was the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, but unfortunately, on the tracks of the Japanese city, the luger Zubkov showed only the twentieth result.

bobsledder

Probably the result of the past Olympics, or maybe something else, prompted Alexander Zubkov to change his “field of activity”. The following year, 1999, Alexander switched to another sport - bobsleigh. As time has shown, the choice was correct - bobsleigh turns brought him the title of two-time Olympic champion.

At the Russian level, Alexander almost immediately begins to win all the awards, and in 2002, for the second time in his biography, he gets to the Olympic Games, but this time as a representative of a different sport. The results of these games were disappointing for the bobsledder, because he took 16th and 18th places there, in twos and fours, respectively.

Bobsledder Alexander Zubkov

In fact, the biography of Zubkov the champion begins in 2005, when our pilot, together with accelerators Golubev, Seliverstov and Stepushkin, won the World Cup for the first time, winning seven stages. But the successes of 2005 do not end there for our hero. In the same World Cup, but in doubles, Zubkov, paired with Dmitry Stepushkin, takes second place. The 2005 World Championships in Canada also did not leave our athletes without awards; Zubkov’s crew of four took silver awards, which at that time became the highest achievement of Russian biathlon at world championships.

In 2006, the Russian four, led by Alexander Zubkov, again won the World Cup, and in the two-man competition, Alexander again took second place, but this time he had the accelerator. Looking ahead, we can say that it is the Zubkov-Voevoda pair that is in the history of Russian bobsleigh. After all, all subsequent successes of Russian bobsleigh, up to Sochi 2014, are associated with Zubkov, and the merit of his accelerating Voivode is very great in Zubkov’s successes.

In 2006, the first Olympic successes came. At the Turin Olympics, Zubkov, at the head of the four, won a silver medal, and four years later, in Vancouver, Canada, Alexander took third place among two-man crews. Between these two Olympics there were World Championship medals and victories at the European Championships. Behind our hero at that moment was Aleksey Voevoda, who was dispersing.

In August 2010, Alexander Zubkov unexpectedly ended his sports career, but he could not stay out of the competitive process for a long time and already at the 2010/2011 World Cup, for the first time in the history of Russian bobsled, his crew took first place, while the foursome took third place. In 2011, Zubkov became the world champion and European champion among two-man crews. This season showed that the decision to retire was in vain and the Russian bobsledder still has enough strength and skill to be the best. Moreover, the home Olympics were just around the corner.

Olympic triumph in Sochi

In the pre-Olympic season, Zubkov won the World Cup for the seventh time (in fours), which showed his rivals his spirit for the upcoming Olympics. Moreover, when it takes place in your own walls, you can be better prepared, because the feeling and knowledge of the bobsleigh track is of great importance.

At the home Olympics, Zubkov was entrusted with carrying the national flag at the opening ceremony. Many took this as an unkind sign; often the standard-bearers of the Russian national team did not live up to expectations, but the future two-time champion of Sochi did not care. He carried this flag, and then showed who’s boss!

Gold in deuces

Traditionally, the first discipline in bobsleigh competitions was duet races. Alexander Zubkov performed together with Alexey Voevoda. And they won. Our guys didn’t bother harnessing it for long and took the lead on the first try, showing perfect acceleration and brilliant traversal of the track, at the same time setting a track record in the first attempt. Then they updated the same record in the third attempt.

What can you say about this victory if the Russian duo was the best in all four races? Before the final attempt, the Russian bobsleigh pair was in first place, half a second ahead of second place. Is this too much for bobsleigh? This is an abyss. Convincing victory.

Alexander Zubkov and Alexey Voevoda are Olympic champions in Sochi in doubles

At his fifth Olympics, Zubkov finally won a gold medal. But it was too early to relax; ahead of the Russian pilot there were races of fours, where he was considered an even bigger favorite than in twos.

Gold in fours

When three Russian skiers, led by Alexander Legkov, carried out a phenomenal 50 km race and won three medals in one fell swoop, including the 12th gold of the Russian team in Sochi, many shouted with one voice: “This is the point of the Olympics!” But it would be wrong to call this a real point, because at that time the bobsleigh competition had not yet ended. And all that remained was to cross your fingers and hope that His Majesty chance would not interfere in the medal draw and that the one who really should win would win.

Before the final, fourth attempt in the fours competition, Alexander Zubkov's crew was in the lineup and was ahead. But the advantage over the second crew was 0.17 seconds. Just 0.17 seconds. It would seem that for bobsleigh this is enough to not worry and win. But history knows many cases when even less distances were played out.

But Zubkov won! And even though he lost the final race, the advantage he earned in the previous three attempts was enough. The Latvian four finished second, 0.09 seconds behind the Russians. Zubkov and Voevoda became two-time Olympic champions, and their bean partners tasted Olympic gold for the first time. This was the 13th and last victory of Russian athletes at the Olympics in Sochi!

Note: As a result of the doping scandal, Zubkov was deprived of two gold medals won at the Sochi Olympics.

Further career

After the Olympic season, Zubkov missed training camp, regained his health and announced that he wanted to become the head coach of the Russian bobsled team. But after he was not offered this post, Alexander took a break from his career.

On October 22, 2014, Zubkov officially announced the end of his sports career and noted that in the future he would be involved in coaching.